Wife There Was

'Alison,' says her father, 'will be brought up as a boy.'But this unwanted daughter is her own person.A rebellious child, then a feisty woman.challenging all male authority,scorning the church's ideals of virginity and chastity,embracing avidly the forbidden pleasures of sexuality.Many husbands come her way - some by chance, some by choice.So too does love - at its best, at its worst. Born into a turbulent ageof never-ending war, relentless bubonic plague,political unrest and fierce heresy-hunting,Alison is very much a 14th century woman. And yet...her resilience and survival are timelessHer life is haunted by conflictbetween robust carnalityand a yearning for the serenity of spiritualitythat she never finds. The years bring bleak inner journeys darkened bysorrow and loss and buried secrets. And yet, and yet...come what may, Alison's abounding joyis a light that never dims for long.